This invention relates to a display, in particular, to a display for displaying images in three dimensions.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,069,368 discloses such a display. The display of this U.S. Patent includes a casing having an open front and including side walls and rear wall having light-reflective inner surfaces, a light source in the casing, a front transparent mirror means consisting of a sheet of glass, a transparent light-reflective metal coating provided on the rear surface of the sheet of glass and a backing of glass sheet on the rear surface of the coating and a rear opaque mirror means provided behind the front transparent mirror means, the opaque mirror means consisting of a sheet of glass and opaque light-reflective metal coating provided on the rear surface of the glass sheet, and the opaque light-reflective coating including transparent portions in the form of a predetermined image or images. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,114,711, 2,221,887 and 2,221,889 disclose similar displays.
However, such prior art displays are disadvantageous in that, since the displays have more than two separate glass sheets or plates, assembly of the displays is somewhat complicated and the size thereof becomes relatively large.
Further, as stated above, such displays have a mirror at the front position thereof which consists of a sheet of glass and a light-reflective coating on the rear surface of the sheet. However, from a decorative point of view, mirrorlike appearances are not desired in some kinds of displays. When the displays are used for example in the dash-boards of autos, electric calculators, electric digital clocks and so on, it is desired that the front surface of the displays looks like a metal surface or wall so as to match the appearance of the metal frame surrounding the front surface of the displays. Further, it is sometimes desired that such a metal surface or wall has a roughened or blurred appearance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,411 which has been assigned to the same assignee as that of this application shows displays having such appearance though those displays are not of the type where images are displayed in three dimensions.
Furthermore, if the prior art three dimensional displays stated above are put in the light when the light source provided in the displays is not turned on, there is a tendency for the light around the displays to enter the inside of the displays through transparent portions in the form of the predetermined images which are provided in the opaque light-reflective metal coating as stated above and, thus, the inside becomes visible from the outside of the displays. Such a fact is not desirable from a decorative point of view.